


Turned

by birdcages7



Series: Tumblr Prompts/Shorts [12]
Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Blood and Injury, Choking, Extremely Dubious Consent, M/M, Mind Control, Mind Manipulation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-23
Updated: 2020-08-23
Packaged: 2021-03-06 16:21:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,375
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26071810
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/birdcages7/pseuds/birdcages7
Summary: Steve runs into Billy in the back corridors of Starcourt Mall.He wishes he hadn't.
Relationships: Billy Hargrove & Steve Harrington
Series: Tumblr Prompts/Shorts [12]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1785595
Kudos: 23





	Turned

“Billy! Holy shit, you’re alive! I thought you’d died or something!” Steve’s voice echoed down the long back corridor behind Scoops. Employees only. But now wasn’t the time for rules. Now was the time for getting the hell out of here before it all went skyward even more than it already was. “Hey man, we gotta go, Max is-”

The rest of the sentence was choked off, Billy’s thick hand wrapped around Steve’s throat and pushed him up the wall, off his feet, barely on his toes. Impossibly strong. He’d only glanced away for a second, back through the doors from where he came, just to check everyone was still okay. A quick headcount. He didn’t know how Billy had gotten here, or even why he  _ was _ here, Steve was just happy to see a familiar face after the nightmare of the Russians that had spiralled into this new nightmare of faceless monsters he thought were all in the past, but just kept coming back again and again. He just couldn’t wake up no matter how much he slept.

Seeing Billy this close though, something was horribly different. He was still wide and tough but his body was lined with black veins, stretching up into his face towards his eyes. Still blue but dark. Staring straight through him like Steve wasn’t even there. He wrapped his hands around Billy’s arm tight, trying to get him to let go. The world was starting to get blurry around the edges. Billy’s face split into a grin after a slow blink, pressing closer into Steve’s space.

“Pretty Boy,” he drawled in a recognising tone, like his tongue wasn’t his own anymore. Voice sounding like a backwards record. Fear raced up Steve’s spine as he dug his nails into muscle and skin, took the risk to kick at Billy to let go but it was like attacking a brick wall. The black was creeping in more and more into his vision, becoming nothing but pinpricks of shapes and colours.

Being thrown to the ground was a mercy. Steve gasped for air and scrambled to his knees, sneakers squeaking on the tile as a baser instinct kicked in. The one that was working overtime to keep him alive this long. Run. But being choked and drugged and tortured had worn him down. His brain was still foggy with whatever was left in his system, it wasn’t talking to all his limbs at the right time in the right way. It was like learning to walk after growing two feet in less than a month all over again.

Billy just took two confident steps forward and Steve was pinned to the floor between his legs as he knelt down, staring up at eyes that were too dark and skin that looked cracked and broken. There was something in there though, something that wasn’t whatever was happening on the outside. Something soft that Steve had maybe seen once or twice. Certainly not at their fight at the Byer’s though. In passing, when Billy had been dropping Max off at the arcade and Steve had been doing the same with the rest of the twerps. When they had just nodded at each other across the lot. A calm acceptance of each others’ presence in the aftermath. When there wasn’t a need for a tough front anymore.

Steve tried backing away, tried kicking his way out from underneath what was apparently just a deadweight of pure muscle, but it was useless. The fight in him was dying. He could barely see out of one eye, he could still feel Billy’s hands around his throat tight and unforgiving. All the fight left in him felt weak in comparison. He didn’t just let his arms get pinned to the floor above his head though. He tried breaking away one more time, but that just led to his head being slammed down hard to stop his squirming. The bright fluorescent lights in the ceiling swirling and creating shadows that couldn’t possibly be there, long and numerous like extra arms reaching the walls. Causing Steve to hear things clear as day that couldn’t possibly be real through the sharp ringing in his ears.

**_He likes you Pretty Boy._ **

Billy’s mouth didn’t move with the words. One hand held onto both of Steve’s wrists. The air felt thick. His body still couldn’t get enough, throat obviously bruised now, but he still kept fighting weakly. He didn’t want to die in a sailor’s uniform. Thought he’d at least escaped that horrific possibility. Someone was going to find him like this and he’d just die of embarrassment all over again. Billy sat more on his hips, heavy and unyielding, forcing more precious air out of his body. His free hand pressed the side of Steve's face into the cold floor. Everything was cold. The tile. Billy's hands. He looked like he should have been running hot like a furnace but he was freezing. Colder than ice. His thick thumb pulled at the tender skin around the cut on Steve's lip, ripping it back open. Steve could only hiss and try to wriggle out of it. Out of whatever was happening. Out of the damn mall and somewhere he could hide forever. Away from all of this. Away from the world that clearly wanted him dead.

Steve's eyes flew open in fright as he saw Billy lean down, lean in close, smelling like sweat and something musty and rotting, could only feel a tongue lapping up the blood that had dripped across his chin up to the cut that rang out raw at the rough intrusion in one long swipe.

**_We can use you_ ** .

"We can use you."

**_Don't be scared_ ** .

"Don't be scared."

Steve fought out of the grip on his head just enough to see what was happening. To see a voice echo down the hall before it left Billy's lips. Like broken stereo. Blue eyes were now drained of colour, just leaving behind completely black shadows, shiny and reflective enough that Steve could see his own fear in them. Billy smiled but it wasn't real. It was like he was a puppet and someone was pulling the strings too tight. A hand wrapped around Steve's throat again. Tighter and even more unforgiving. Choking him out for good. The world going dark. Causing his feet to twitch and sneakers to squeak pathetically at the weak movements.

"Don't be scared. You'll be safe with us," the voice mixed with Billy's as Steve gasped desperately.

The last thing Steve felt was Billy kissing him, rough and hard and mean before the world went black. He felt  _ things _ grab his body, slick and smooth and cold, but everything just felt too far away. Didn't feel real. Felt like touching things through layers of cotton candy with numb fingers. Pinholes of light expanded into sight again. He was still in the hallway. Still on the floor. A lightbulb above blinked when he did. Billy wasn't smiling anymore. The lightbulb kept blinking as the pain seeped in. Endless, indescribable pain. Steve wanted to scream but his body didn't react. Didn't make a single peep of noise. Didn't even flinch to the sheer agony rattling over his brain. It was worse than the Russians. Worse than the torture. Worse than the drugs. It was worse than anything he'd ever felt before. Splitting apart and cracking and reforming. Something was tearing him apart from the inside out. He wanted to beg and cry, somehow do  _ anything _ to make it stop. 

But Billy just looked at him, pulled Steve’s body and himself up off the floor so they were both standing again. A small amount of blue was back in his eyes.

“We get the girl,” two voices spoke at once. Billy’s lips moved and his voice was there but it wasn’t his words. Steve kind of  _ understood _ that now. A fuzz in his brain reacted to it, calmed and soothed for only a second. It was bliss. He immediately needed more.

Steve didn’t recognise his own voice as it left his throat, desperate to just make the pain go away even a little, would say and do  _ anything _ just to make it stop.

**“We get the girl.”**

**Author's Note:**

> [Tumblr page.](https://bird-in-a-cage.tumblr.com/) Come ask me stuff! Headcannons more than welcome!


End file.
